De Beauvoir Area Guide

De Beauvoir Town lies between Islington and London Fields, and offers an appealing alternative if you want to remain close to the urban action but are also looking for a bit of peace and quiet. Many of its elegant Victorian villas and terraces have good-sized gardens and are on tree-lined no-through roads, creating a sense of tranquillity and safety for the many young families. There are also apartments in warehouse conversions and new build developments along the Kingsland Basin and Regent’s Canal, alongside small start-ups and artists’ studios.

Built as a carefully planned new town in the mid-19th century, today De Beauvoir is a homogeneous and aesthetically pleasing network of Victorian villas and terraces. Covering a relatively small are of just over ¼ square mile, the town was built around the Jacobean style De Beauvoir Square. Although much of the Victorian housing in the southern part of De Beauvoir was lost to industrial or social housing redevelopment, the remainder is now protected by Conservation Area status.

Overall the area has the feel of a small village, with a handful of local shops clustered together on Southgate Road, and an increasing number of cafes and bars to supplement popular gastropubs. Transport links were much improved by the opening of the East London Overground Line, with Haggerston Station a mere hop across Kingsland Road from de Beauvoir Square. This connects with the Victoria line at Highbury & Islington as well as heading south to Shoreditch, Canary Wharf and beyond. There are of course mny buses, and it is only a short cycle or walk to the City.